USS Oklahoma Reinterment Ceremony
On the 80th anniversary of the attack on Pearl Harbor, the U.S. Navy, in partnership with DPAA, hosted a reinterment ceremony at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific for the 33 remaining Sailors of the USS Oklahoma who were unable to be individually identified. Through all modern efforts, 361 of the 394 Sailors and Marines originally buried as Unknowns were individually identified.
You can watch the ceremony at either of the links below.
Photo by Staff Sgt. Apryl Hall
USS Oklahoma Group Remains Initial Ceremony
The U.S. Navy and DPAA held an interment ceremony at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific, also known as the Punchbowl, in Honolulu Dec. 1. The partial re-interment ceremony was for USS Oklahoma Sailors who perished during the 1941 attack on Pearl Harbor and could not be individually identified during our six-year USS Oklahoma Project. The final remains from the ship will be buried on Dec. 7, 2021, the 80th anniversary of the Attack on Pearl Harbor, in a formal ceremony at the Punchbowl and will officially mark the end of project, which individually identified 92 percent of the Sailors and Marines from the USS Oklahoma.
U.S. Army photo by Staff Sgt. Michael O'Neal
Humanitarian Outreach
U.S. Army Capt. Muhammad Mansoor, an Internal Medicine Physician, assigned to a Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA) recovery team, examines a local villager in Xiangkhouang Province, Laos, Nov. 18, 2021. During the DPAA recovery mission, members of the medical team provide health care to local villagers as part of DPAA’s humanitarian outreach initiative. There are currently 1,584 missing service members from the Vietnam War. DPAA’s mission is to achieve the fullest possible accounting for missing and unaccounted-for U.S. personnel to their families and our nation.
Photo Courtesy of U.S. Embassy in Laos
Ambassdor visits DPAA site in Laos, brings Thanksgiving meal to team
On Nov. 24, U.S. Ambassador to the Lao People’s Democratic Republic, Peter Haymond, visited two Defense POW / MIA Accounting Agency Joint Field Activity Sites, along with representatives from the Lao Government, and met with the technical experts who are conducting a humanitarian mission in the north. The Ambassador and his team brought some traditional Thanksgiving foods like turkey along with desserts from the Embassy community to help the service members celebrate the holiday away from their friends and families.
Senior-Level Provincial Coordination Meeting in Vietnam
From November 26-27, 2021, Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency Detachment Two (DPAA, Det2) and the Vietnam Office for Seeking Missing Persons (VNOSMP) hosted a senior level provincial coordination meeting and site visit between key leaders from the United States Embassy, Vietnam’s Science Technology, Health Officer Department, and the Nghe An Peoples Committee. Participants discussed the importance of DPAA mission, positive collaboration between Det2-VNOSMP, and humanitarian cooperation which enhances mutual understanding. The cooperation in the MIA and humanitarian arena continues to be an important pillar for the United States and Vietnam relation. Members also discussed future collaboration in Nghe An Province, particularly in areas of: security cooperation, foreign direct investment, medical capacity, educational programs, and disaster relief operations.
DPAA Year in Review
The FY 2021 Year in Review magazine is here!
Our annual magazine chronicles our efforts throughout the previous fiscal year to fulfill our sacred mission to bring home those still unaccounted for from our past wars and conflicts.
You can view or download it by clicking on the link below or going to the Year In Review website page.
Veteran's Day through a Photographer's Lens
U.S. Air Force Tech. Sgt. Leah Ferrante, Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency forensic photographer, reminisces time served with the agency.